Popular Toronto donut shop location rebranding into an Asian restaurant
A busy location of a popular Toronto donut shop is about to turn to the savoury side as it transforms into the city's newest Filipino restaurant.
Back in 2016, Isabella's was almost single-handedly responsible for introducing Toronto to the mochi donut; now, a decade and five fruitful locations later, the team behind the donut shop is embarking on an entirely new adventure.
Opening this Saturday, Sept. 19, in the former Isabella's location on St. Patrick Street, Araceli is Isabella's founders Cecilia and David Noon's love letter to Filipino cuisine, presented in a format that, they say, will be accessible even to Toronto residents unfamiliar with the flavours of the Philippines.
"Toronto already has so much incredible, authentic Filipino food. With Araceli, we saw an opportunity to create another entry point into the cuisine, especially for Filipino-Canadians who were born and raised here, as well as their non-Filipino friends who may be discovering these flavours for the first time," Cecilia and David tell blogTO.
"Araceli is really a bridge between those worlds."
Named after both Cecilia's late grandmother and Cecilia and David's 15-month-old daughter, Araceli — the restaurant — promises to be just as much of a generational bridge.
"We're taking flavours and memories that have been passed down through our family and bringing them into a new fast-casual Filipino concept created here in Toronto," the Noons tell blogTO. "The name felt like the perfect way to honour where we came from while also representing where the next generation is taking it."
Among other nostalgic-but-new menu items, Araceli's old-school-new-school approach can be found in their pandesal sandwiches. Combining a Filipino staple, pandesal bread rolls, and Toronto's vibrant sandwich culture, both Cecilia and David list it as the menu item they're most excited to introduce to Toronto.
"We want someone who grew up eating pandesal to recognize that familiarity immediately, while someone who's never tried Filipino food can simply think, 'That looks like an amazing sandwich. I want one.' Then they discover all these flavours they may not have experienced before," they tell blogTO.
"That balance is really what excites us about the menu."
Alongside the sandwiches, you can also expect build-your-own bowls brimming with Filipino flavours and, of course, mochi donuts, for good measure.
Araceli will be located at 4 St. Patrick St.
